The Dutch sure do have their priorities in order.
Revellers in Amsterdam were given a break from lockdown restrictions to hit the dance floor, in the name of science.
The government-backed party invited attendees to the city’s largest music arena – the Ziggo Dome – to track just how much coronavirus could spread in such an environment, and what health precautions held the most benefit.
It was an extremely exclusive party – some 100,000 people applied for tickets, but just 1700 got access.
(This wasn’t a fake party – there were real performers, including Sam Feldt, and Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano.)
Tweet from @andyzuidema
Those 1700 were divided into five groups of 250 people, each with a different set of rules or restrictions to follow through the four-hour shindig.
Some groups were allowed free rein, others had to wear masks but could move wherever they liked – others were encouraged to scream and dance as much as they could.
Each attendee was rigged up with sensors and equipment to track their movements and how much contact they had with each other.
People were also given coloured liquids to drink, to monitor just how much saliva they expelled when they sang. Delightful.
(Naturally everyone was required to submit a negative COVID-19 test before attending.)
It’s the latest in a series of experiments, co-ordinated by Fieldlab, that will help the country ease out of its stringent restrictions in the months to come.
There’s also been trial football matches, conferences and theatre performances.
